Coffee, potato pancakes and conversation: how Jelgava Hospital supports hospice patients
Jelgava Hospital treats hospice patients to coffee and food as a way to open up conversation and provide human support. Experts say only about 4,000 of the 19,000 people in Latvia who need palliative care actually receive it.
At Jelgava City Hospital, patients requiring hospice and palliative care are welcomed not only with medical treatment but also with special hospitality. They are offered potato pancakes with salmon, open-faced sandwiches with sprats, and a cup of freshly brewed coffee. The food, however, is not the main point — it serves as an invitation to talk, something that patients often lack during their hospital stay.
Volunteers from the “Holiday Table” project visit the hospital to give people attention and emotional support. Hospital routine can be rushed and impersonal, and these conversations allow patients to feel like human beings rather than just recipients of medical procedures.
According to experts, around 19,000 people in Latvia are in need of palliative care, but only about 4,000 actually receive it. That means a significant number of seriously ill individuals are left without adequate support. LSM reported this story in its program “Обсудим вечером”.
